Contribution envelope



Dec. 9, 1969 J. s. PROBST; JR 3,482,765

CONTRIBUTION ENVELOPE Filed March 22. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nvveuron JOHN S. PROBST. JR.

hisATTORNEYS Dec. 9, 1969 J. s. PROBST, JR 3,432,765

CONTRIBUTION ENVELOPE Filed March 22, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3.

INVENTOR JOHN S. PROBST, JR.

his ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,482,765 CONTRIBUTION ENVELOPE John S. Probst, Jr., Poland, Ohio, assignor to Postal Church Service, Inc., Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 719,296 Int. Cl. B65d 27/04 US. Cl. 229-75 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a church contribution envelope having openings through the back of the envelope, but not through the front of the envelope, so that articles inside the envelope may be seen from the back of the envelope but not the front of the envelope, and are not likely to be discarded. This is accomplished by providing an envelope blank comprising a main body and first, second and third flaps which fold together to produce the finished envelope, the said flaps having cooperating grooves therein to form an opening between two adjacent flaps when the flaps are closed to form a finished envelope.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A religious organization receiving large amounts of financial contributions in envelopes encounters the problem of making sure that the envelope is empty before it is discarded. One solution to this has been to punch holes through the envelope so that anything in the envelope may be seen from the outside. This has several disadvantages-one is that the space on the front of the envelope is needed for printed information, and should not have a hole in it. In addition, contributors generally object to the contents of their envelope being seen from the front of the envelope. Furthermore, punching holes in envelopes requires an additional manufacturing operation which increases their cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a church contribution envelope having holes through the back of the envelope, but not through the front or face of the envelope so that articles inside the envelope may be seen from outside, and are not likely to be discarded. An envelope blank is provided comprising a main panel, two side flaps and a bottom flap which fold together against the main body of the blank so as to produce the finished envelope. The side and bottom flaps have cooperating grooves therein to form an Opening preferably circular in shape between two adjacent fiaps when they are folded against the main panel. A top or closure flap is provided for sealing the envelope in the manner customary in the prior art.

Ihe above and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specificaton, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an open blank in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an envelope completed by folding the side and bottom flaps of the blank shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an open envelope blank in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an envelope completed by folding the side and bottom flaps of the blank shown in FIG. 3.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown an embodiment of the invention employing a standard shaped envelope of the design generally used for letters. In FIG. 1, the paper blank for forming the envelope is shown. It comprises a main panel 4 which forms the front of the envelope when the envelope is completed, and four flaps 6, 8, 10 and 12. The four flaps are extensions of the four sides of the main panel 4 and are adapted to be folded against the main panel along the dotted lines shown in FIG. 1. The top flap 6 is the sealing fiap of the finished envelope and is shaped generally in the customary manner of envelopes of the prior art.

The two side flaps 10 and 12 and bottom flap 8 fold along the dotted lines of FIG. 1 to form the envelope shown in FIG. 2. Along each of the side flaps, generally midway between the top and bottom of the envelope, are grooves 14 and 20 which are generally semicircular in shape at the tip or point of deepest penetration of the grooves. On the edges of the bottom flap 8, two grooves 16 and 18 are provided, each located approximately one-quarter of the distance from the end of the long dimension of the flap. As shown, the grooves 16 and 18 are also substantially semicircular at their tip or point of deepest penetration. The grooves 14, 16, 18 and 20 are formed in the same operation which produces the blank itself. That is, the same master die in one stroke forms the blank and also forms the grooves in the three flaps 8, 10 and 12. In forming the envelope, the side flaps 10 and 12 are first folded inwardly, and then the bottom flap 8 is folded upwardly. In this process, the grooves 14 and 16 overlap, as do the grooves 18 and 20, Consequently, the finished envelope as shown in FIG. 2 is provided with openings formed by the tips of grooves 18 and 20 as well as the tips of grooves 14 and 16.

With the envelope of FIG. 2, for example, contributions are placed in the envelope and subsequently the envelope is opened and the contents removed. At this point, and due to the openings in the backside, a quick glance at the back of the envelope will determine if anything has been left inside. For example, if a five dollar bill was in the envelope, it would be visible from the outside through the openings thus formed, and would not not likely be destroyed with the envelope.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, another embodiment of the invention is shown wherein elements corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are identified by like reference numerals. The envelope in this case is similar to that described in US. Patent No. 3,343,749, issued Sept. 26, 1967 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. The envelope again includes a main or front panel 4, a top flap 6, side flaps 10 and 12 and a bottom flap 8, Furthermore, grooves 14 and 20 are formed in the lower edges of the side flaps 10 and 12; and grooves 16 and 18 are formed in the lower edge of the bottom flap 8.

When the flaps 10 and 12 of FIG. 3 are folded inwardly along the dotted lines of FIG. 3 and the bottom flap 8 folded upwardly, the envelope of FIG. 4 results. This envelope is provided with two different pockets beneath side flaps 10 and 12 which may receive currency for different special contributions. Thus, the left pocket may be used, for example, for contributions to the usual Sunday collection; whereas the right pocket may be used for contributions to special building funds or other campaigns. When currency has been inserted into the pockets, the envelope is folded along a vertical seam generally midway between its edges whereby the one pocket overlaps the other, and the top flap folded downwardly and sealed to the front panel 4. All of this is more fully described in the aforesaid U.S. Patent No. 3,343,749.

It will be appreciated that with the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, folding of the side flaps and 12 inwardly and folding of the bottom flap 8 upwardly overlaps the notches or grooves 18 and 20 and also overlaps the grooves 14 and 16. Consequently, openings are again formed at the areas of the overlapping flaps whereby the contents of the two pockets for the envelope can be viewed from the outside of the envelope once the seal formed by flap 6 is broken and the two pockets opened up in a manner somewhat similar to the opening of a book.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with certain specific embodiments, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim as my invention:

1. In an envelope having its front side uninterrupted and having its back side interrupted with at least one sight opening therethrough such that articles inside said envelope may be seen from the back side of said envelope but not the front side thereof, the combination comprising,

(a) an uninterrupted main panel forming said front side of said envelope,

(b) a pair of side flaps arranged on opposite sides of said main panel to fold over against said main panel, at least one of said pair of flaps having a groove in an edge thereof, and

(c) a bottom flap arranged at the bottom of said main panel to fold over against and partially overlie said pair of side flaps, said bottom flap together with said pair of side'flaps forming said back side of said envelope, said bottom flaps having at least one groove in an edge thereof cooperating with said groove in said one side flap to form said one sight opening.

2. An envelope construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said sight opening formed by said cooperating grooves is substantially a small circular hole.

3. An envelope construction as defined in claim 1 including a top flap arranged at the top of said main panel to fold over against and partially overlie said pair of side flaps, exposing said sight opening.

4. An envelope construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said one Sight opening is spaced substantially centrally in one half of said envelope.

5. A church contribution envelope having its front side uninterrupted and having its back side interrupted with a pair of sight openings therethrough such that articles inside said envelope may be seen from the back side thereof but not from the front side thereof, said envelope comprising,

(a) an uninterrupted main panel forming said front side of said envelope,

(b) a pair of side flaps arranged on opposite sides of said main panel to fold over against said main panel, each of said side flaps having a groove in an edge thereof, and

(c) a bottom flap arranged at the bottom of said main panel to fold over against and partially overlie said pair of side flaps which bottom flap together with said pair of side flaps forms the back side of said envelope, said bottom flap having a pair of grooves in an edge thereof, each of said grooves in said bottom fl-a-p cooperating with a groove in one of said side flaps to form said pair of sight openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. Xnl 229-68, 72 

